BELFAST, Mar 25 (Agencies): Paul Smyth was Northern Ireland's hero after coming off the bench to mark his international debut with the winning goal against World Cup-bound South Korea in Belfast on Saturday.
There were just six minutes left until the end of the friendly match when the 20-year-old Queens Park Rangers forward was sent on by Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and it took him just two minutes to score.
Conor Washington overpowered a defender and Smyth got on the ball before cutting inside and then producing a composed finish that gave South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu no chance, to the delight of the Windsor Park faithful.
South Korea had dominated much of the second half but, significantly, were unable to add to their tally after the opening 45 minutes ended all square at 1-1, with an early Kwon Chang-Hoon strike cancelled out by an own-goal from Kim Min-Jae.
Unlike South Korea, Northern Ireland won't be heading to Russia 2018 after a controversial penalty led to a goal that saw them beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in a two-legged play-off.
O'Neill, who turned down an approach from Scotland to stay on as Northern Ireland manager, gave international debuts to Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson and Norwich full-back Jamal Lewis.
South Korea fielded both of their Premier League stars -- Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min and Swansea midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung -- from the start. It took the visitors just seven minutes to open the scoring.
Park Joo-Ho undid the home defence with a ball over the top and Kwon Chang-Hoon, coming in off the wing, took one touch for control before shooting past Carson.
Northern Ireland, however, were back on level terms in the 21st minute.
From a 25-yard free-kick, Oliver Norwood, instead of shooting at goal, slid a pass round the side of the wall to Jamie Ward, whose hard-hit cross was turned into his own net by defender Kim Min-Jae.
South Korea went close to a second goal in the 57th minute when a diving Carson saved well after Park's shot was deflected off Kwon.
As often happens in friendlies, a raft of substitutions around the hour led to a disjointed game.
Son, to the undoubted relief of Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, was substituted 15 minutes from time in what appeared to be a purely tactical, rather than injury-induced, change.
For Northern Ireland, Smyth, who plays his club football in England's second-tier Championship, came on to win his first cap and then crowned an already memorable day with a well-taken goal.
Meanwhile, Marcos Bolados came off the bench to score a late winner on his international debut as Chile earned a 2-1 friendly victory in Sweden on Saturday.
The match appeared to be drifting towards a draw but 22-year-old Bolados tucked in the rebound after Kristoffer Nordfeldt saved from Alexis Sanchez.
Chile took the lead in the 22nd minute, Arturo Vidal smashing a powerful volley into the roof of the net from the edge of the box after Sweden failed to clear a corner. But within a minute Sweden drew level with a superbly crafted goal, Ola Toivonen lashing in an immediate response for the hosts after Viktor Claesson touched Emil Forsberg's pass into his path.
Manchester United forward Sanchez had a goal correctly ruled out for offside and Sebastian Larsson whipped a 30-yard free-kick over the angle, while Chile substitute Nicolas Castillo rifled a pair of late shots straight at Nordfeldt in the second half.
Up until the last minute, Sanchez had failed to record a shot on target in an ineffective display but the Chile captain was involved in his side's winner, Nordfeldt only able to parry a tame effort into the danger zone for Bolados to record a dream debut.
In another match, a goal by Andre Carrillo in the first half and another by Edinson Flores in the second sealed an impeccable 2-0 victory for Peru in the prelude to the World Cup in Russia.
Carrillo put the team ahead in the 12th minute on Saturday when they consummated a collective play of pressure at the rival's exit that ended with an error in the delivery of the ball by the Croatian central.
From then on, the panorama of what the match would play out at Hard Rock Stadium was drawn.
The suffocating pressure on the Croatian exit channels and a compact formation behind to neutralise the offensive aerial game allowed the Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca to control a friendly match that, due to the red and soft colours in the bleachers, seemed the game was in Lima and not in Miami.
In the 23rd minute Jefferson Farfán made a clear goal play by drawing a ball over his keeper before finishing the first goal near goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
At the start of the second half a deep pitch from Christian Cueva put Jefferson Farfán in a fast race, who dragged his custodian and forced Subasic to go out to meet the Peruvian point.
The shot of 'La Foquita' left the ball to Edinson Flores, who came from behind and put the ball in the back of the net. Only 49 minutes passed and there was already a chasm between both teams.
Zlatko Dalic tried to tap into his resources but Gareca responded with refreshed players who barely consolidated a safe backward and quick scheme to the counterattack.
The Peruvian team will have a new appointment on Tuesday against the selection of Iceland, which will rival Croatia, Argentina and Nigeria in Group D of the World Cup in Russia.
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